Film strip cartridge

ABSTRACT

A film cartridge employing an endless, unspooled roll of film having an external loop presenting the active part of the film and feeding from the outside of the roll to the inside thereof. The cartridge has a rectangular case provided with a pair of side-by-side compartments which receive the roll and the loop respectively, the roll being held in an inclined position in which it leans into the adjacent compartment to dispose the outside and inside of the roll therein with the loop. The case has a flat bottom upon which it is self-supporting in an upright position, and a protective sheath fits over the front of the case to provide a self-storing cartridge assembly.

United States Patent Fernkopf et al.

1541 FILM STRIP CARTRIDGE [72] Inventors: Forrest D. Fernkopf, 2521Sunset Road; Gilbert E. Wehmeier, 5608 W. 24th Street, both of Topeka,Kans. 66614 22 Filed: AprilS, 1971 21 App1.No.: 131,097

[52] US. Cl. ..352/128, 242/55.19 A, 352/78 R [451 Oct. 10,1972

3,446,551 5/1969 Platt ..352/ 126 UX Primary Examiner-Samuel S. MatthewsAssistant Examiner-Fred L. Braun Attorney-D. A. N. Chase ABSTRACT A filmcartridge employing an endless, unspooled roll of film having anexternal loop presenting the active part of the film and feeding fromthe outside of the roll to the inside thereof. The cartridge has arectangular case provided with a pair of side-by-side compartments whichreceive the roll and the loop respectively, the roll being held in aninclined position in which it leans into the adjacent compartment todispose the outside and inside of the roll therein with the loop. Thecase has a flat bottom upon which it is self-supporting in an uprightposition, and a protective sheath fits over the front of the case toprovide a selfstoring cartridge assembly.

9 Clairm, 5 Drawing Figures PATENIEnnm 10 I972 flwrfesz D. FernkapfGilbert E. Wehmeier I I INVENTORS A TTORNE Y FILM STRIP CARTRIDGE Thisinvention relates to improvements in film cartridges of the type thatemploy an endless, unspooled roll of film and, in particular, to aself-storing cartridge assembly particularly adapted to handlerelatively wide film strips that are incrementally advanced-from frameto frame to project a series of still pictures.

Visual and audio-visual presentations are in widespread use as aninstructional tool both in schools and in industry. In particular, stillpicture presentations are preferred in many instances since theprojected image is of high quality and the speed at which the materialis presented may be controlled by the instructor. Both slides and filmstrips are available media, but both presently have disadvantages fromthe standpoint of handling. With slides, of course, individual framesmust be stored and handled and fed sequentially into the projectoreither by hand or automatic means. Film strips obviate much of thisdifficulty, but still have to be loaded into the projector on storageand takeup sprockets.

In the case of motion picture films, many of the handling' difficultiespreviously associated with the film reels have been eliminated throughthe use of a film cartridge within which the film is contained in theform of an endless, unspooled roll. Cartridges of this type are shownand described 'in US. Letters Pat. No. 3,244,471, issued Apr. 5, 1966,but this cartridge construction has a number of disadvantages for stillpicture presentations. First of all, these cartridges are primarily for8 mm. motion picture film, rather than the larger and heavier 35 mm.film used in still picture work. If enlarged to accommodate 35 mm. filmstrips, the cartridge is unduly large in size and clumsy to handle.Furthermore, cartridges of this type are stored in separate containersto prevent dust damage, thereby further increasing the bulk of theoverall assembly. Also, greater flexibility is desired in films forstill picture presentations, such as the ability to splice and edit,which are not of as much importance when working with a complete motionpicture presentation.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide a filmcartridge for handling film strips utilized in sequential, still picturepresentations, in order to eliminate the handling problems discussedabove and provide a convenient means of storing the film strips duringperiods of non-use.

It is also another important object of the invention to provide acartridge as aforesaid in which the film strip therein is in the form ofan endless, unspooled roll of film, and wherein the cartridge case isprovided with side-by-side compartments especially arranged to receivethe roll and an external loop presenting the active part of the filmwhich is fed from the outside of the roll to the inside thereof.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a film cartridgeas aforesaid having a unique yet uncomplex internal construction thatenables the cartridge to readily handle endless, unspooled film stripsthat are wide relative to the diameter of the roll, such as 35 mm. filmstrips which are presently in widespread use.

Still another important object of this invention is to provide acartridge as aforesaid having a flat bottomed, rectangular case thatrenders the cartridge self-supporting on such bottom in an uprightposition, and

further enables a plurality of the cartridges to be arranged side byside in a row for convenient storage.

Furthermore, it is an important object of the present invention toprovide a cam'idge assembly for a film strip which is self-storing inthat an additional storage container for the cartridge case is notrequired, yet the roll of film within the cartridge case is at all timesprotected from the ingress of dirt and foreign particles during periodsof storage.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, exploded view of the cartridge assembly,viewing the cartridge case from the top front;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing several cartridges arranged onshelves for storage thereof;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal, fragmentary, vertical sectional view throughthe cartridge case showing the compartment in which the external loop ofthe film is disposed, the components of a projection system beingdiagrammatically illustrated;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3, andshowing the protective sheath in place on the cartridge case; and

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

Referring to the Figures, the film cartridge of the present invention isbroadly denoted by the numeral 10 and includes a case 12 of rectangularconfiguration. The case 12 may be of molded plastic construction(illustrated herein as transparent) and is divided into a pair ofsections 14 and 16 that define a pair of side-byside, internalcompartments 14a and 16a respectively. It may be noted that both of thecompartments 14a and 16a are rectangular in configuration, but that thecompartment 16a is longer front to rear, thereby providing the case 12with a nose portion 18 that projects forwardly from the main body of thecase 12. The nose portion 18 presents a front wall 20 having an opening22 therein, and the two sections 14 and 16 jointly present an opposite,rear wall 24 best seen in FIG. 2. A pair of hinges 26 interconnect thetwo sections 14 and 16 at the center of the rear wall 24, therebypermitting opening and closing of the case 12 as will be discussedhereinafter.

The two sections 14 and 16 present opposite, outer side walls 28 and 30respectively of the case 12, and the front of the smaller section 14presents an intermediate wall 32 which lies in an upright plane betweenand parallel to the parallel front wall 20 and rear wall 24. By virtueof the rectangular configuration of the case 12, it should be noted thatthe case has a flat bottom 34 upon which the case is self-supporting inan upright position. This may be clearly seen in FIG. 4, where it isalso evident that the case has a flat top 36 and is of rectangularconfiguration whether viewed in longitudinal or transversecross-section.

The inner edge of the case section 16 is provided with an upstandingdivider element 38. As may be seen from a comparison of FIGS. 1, 3 and4, taking into consideration the directions of the arrows, the filmwithin the case 12 is in the form of an endless, unspooled roll havingan external loop 42 which is fed from the outside of the roll 40 to theinside thereof. The compartments 14a and 16a receive the roll 40 and theloop 42 respectively, the main body of the roll 40 being retained withinthe compartment 14a by virtue of engagement of the lower, inner edge ofthe roll 40 with the divider element 38. Furthermore, due to the factthat the space between the element 3 8 and the side wall 28 is less thanthe width of the film of the roll 40, the roll is held in an inclinedposition in which it leans into the adjacent compartment 16a to disposethe outside and inside of the roll 40 in compartment 16a along with theloop 42. The natural rigidity of the film prevents the roll 40 fromleaning over completely across the compartment 16a, and undue lateraldisplacement in the other direction is limited by a stop bar 44 whichextends from the intermediate wall 32 to the rear wall 24 within thecompartment 14a in a somewhat diagonal attitude as is clear from viewingFIGS. 1 and 4. The angle with the horizontal formed by the axis'of theroll 40 is approximately 25, thus such axis extends upwardly toward theside wall 28 and downwardly toward the opposite side wall 30.

The film loop 42 extends forwardly in the compartment 16a and isconfined between the front wall 20and a guide in the nature :of apressure plate 46. Accordingly, the projection plane of the film isimmediately behind the front wall 20, aJSpring 48 being connected'to thepressure plate 46 to-yieldablyurgethe latter toward the front wall 20.Theplate 46 fhaslateral edges 50 which are bent in aforward directiontoprovide a guide slot'forthe.filmbetween the plate 46.and the frontwall20 in order to relieve the possible tendency of the film'to bind..A'pairof intemal guideribs 52 on the top 36 of=the section 16 and acorresponding pair of internal guide ribs 54 on the bottom 34 arealigned with the sprocket holes of the'film'to hold'the loop 42 out offrictional contact with the top and bottom internal surfaces of'the casesection 16.

In order to accommodate thej projection system of a film stripprojector, a clearance opening 56 is provided in the side wall 30adjacent the front wall 20 to permit a mirror 58 (FIG. 3) to swing inand out of the compartment 16a in the same manner as in motionpicture'projectors that accommodate film cartridges. The projection lamp(not shown) directs the projection light to the mirror "58 where it isreflected in a forward direction through an aperture'60 in theplate '46,and thence through the film and the opening 22. Theflight bearing theimage on the film is then received by the projection lens apparatus asillustrated at 62. A filmadvance claw 64 is shown and would form a partof a film advance mechanism controlled'by the operatorto effectincremental shifting of the'individual frames into alignment with theaperture 60. The solid; and broken line illustrations of theclaw 64represent the stroke of the claw in advancing a'frame, the normalposition of the claw 64 being shown in the solid lines and the limit ofits downward stroke being illustrated in the broken lines.Suitable-*means (not shown) is provided to shift the claw 64 inwardlyinto engagement with one of the sprocket holes of the film as itcommences its downward stroke.

For storage purposes, a sheath 66 (FIGS. land 4) is provided whichslipsv over the nose portion 18 of the case 12 to provide a protectivecover that closes both the opening 22 in front wall 20 and the accessopening 56 in side wall 30. To this end, the sheath 66 is of rectangularconfiguration except for its opposite side walls 68 and 70, the sidewall 68 being shorter in length to accommodate the distance between thefront wall 20 and the intermediate wall 32. The longer side wall 70extends alongthe corresponding side wall 30 of the case 12 a sufficientdistance to cover the clearance opening 56 when the sheath 66'is inplace. The sheath 66 is formed of thin sheet material and sized to fitsnuglyover the nose portion 18, thereby providing an effective sealagainst the ingress of dust and other foreign particles withoutinterfering with the overall rectangular shape of the case 12.

The rectangular configuration of the case 12 is important from thestandpoint of providing both a selfsupporting and a self-storingcartridge assembly. This may be appreciated from viewing FIG. 2 whereseveral of the cartridges .10 are shown ,on a pair of shelves 72. It maybe noted that the cartridges. 10 on the shelves 72 are arranged in rowswith eachpair of adjacent cartridgesabutting each other in side-by-siderelationship,

i.e. the side wall 28 of one cartridge is in direct contact with theside wall 30 of an adjacent cartridge. This not only minimizes storagespace, butelirninates the need toiprovidean individual rectangularcontainer for each of the cartridges 10 to facilitate storage thereof.Ac-

cordingly; the filmsmay be readily identified by labels 74 on the rearwalls 24 of the cartridges 10, and a selected cartridge may be takenfrom storage for use simplyby withdrawing ,thecartridge from the storageshelf, removing the sheath 66 and inserting the cartridge intheprojector.

Another feature of the present invention is in the provisionofthehinges26-that permit the case 12 to be opened, ifdesiredforsplicing or replacement of the film therein. In normal useandstorage,.the two sections 14 and 16 are maintained tightly closed bya pairof screws 76. at theforwardmost, upper and lower corners of thesection -14 receivedwithin tapped openings 78 in the mating comers ofthe section16.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A filmcartridge comprising;

a case of generally rectangular configuration provided with a pair of,side-by-side compartments, and having a rear wall, a front walldefining a film projection plane immediately therebehind, and a flatbottom upon which the caseis self-supporting .in an upright position;

an endless, unspooled roll of film in said case having ,an external looppresenting the active part of the film and feeding from the outside ofsaid roll to the insidethereof;

. structure in said case engagingsaid roll to maintain a portion of ,themain body thereof in one of said compartments and hold said roll inaninclined positionin which the rollleans into the other of saidcompartmentsto dispose theoutside and inside of theroll and said loop insaid other compartment,

-.said other. compartment presenting said frontfwall;

and

. a guide in .said other compartment adjacent said a front wallandconfining the active part of. said loop to apath of travel in saidprojection plane,

.-.said one compartment terminating forwardlyat an intermediate walllying in an upright plane between said front and rear walls, said othercompartment having a nose portion projecting forwardly ahead of saidintermediate wall and presenting said front wall, said intermediate wallretaining the main body of said roll against forward movement duringfeeding of said loop.

2. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said compartmentspresent opposite, outer sidewalls of said case, and the axis of saidroll in said inclined position extends upwardly toward the sidewallpresented by said one compartment and downwardly toward the sidewallpresented by said other compartment.

3. The cartridge as claimed in claim 2, wherein said structure includesa divider element between said compartments projecting upwardly fromsaid bottom wall and retaining said portion of the main body of the rollin said one compartment.

4. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said case has a top andis provided with internal guide ribs in said other compartment alongsaid top and said bottom engageable by said loop to hold the loop out offrictional contact with the top and bottom internal surfaces of saidcase.

5. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said case comprises apair of sections, and hinge means on said rear wall interconnecting saidsections for relative movement thereof to open and close said case.

6. A self-storing cartridge assembly for an endless, unspooled roll offilm having an external loop presenting the active part of the film andfeeding from the outside of said roll to the inside thereof, saidassembly comprising:

a case of generally rectangular configuration having a rear wall, afront wall defining a film projection plane immediately therebehind, anda flat bottom upon which the case is self-supporting in an uprightposition,

said case being provided with a pair of side-by-side compartments forreceiving said roll and said loop respectively, and means for retaininga portion of the main body of said roll in one of said compartmentswhile permitting free feeding of said loop in the other of saidcompartments,

said one compartment terminating forwardly at an intermediate wall lyingin an upright plane between said front and rear walls, said othercompartment having a nose portion projecting forwardly ahead of saidintermediate wall and presenting said front wall, said intermediate wallretaining the main body of said roll against forward movement duringfeeding of said loop;

a guide in said other compartment adjacent said front wall for confiningtheactive part of said loop to a path of travel in said projectionplane,

said front wall having an opening therein for projection of images onsaid active part therethrough; and

a removable sheath slipped over said nose portion and receiving thelatter in close fitting relationship thereto, and presenting aprotective cover to prevent dust and other foreign particles fromentering said opening during storage.

7. The cartridge assembly as claimed in claim 6,

wherein said other compartment presents an outer sidewall havingfaclearance opening therein adjacent said front wall or receivlng acomponent of a pro ection system when the sheath is removed, said sheathextending along said sidewall and covering said clearance opening whenthe sheath is in place on said nose portion.

8. The cartridge assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein saidcompartments present opposite, outer sidewalls of said case lying inparallel, upright planes to permit a plurality of the cartridgeassemblies to be arranged side by side in a row.

9. The cartridge assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein label isprovided on said rear wall for identifying the film.

1. A film cartridge comprising: a case of generally rectangular configuration provided with a pair of side-by-side compartments, and having a rear wall, a front wall defining a film projection plane immediately therebehind, and a flat bottom upon which the case is selfsupporting in an upright position; an endless, unspooled roll of film in said case having an external loop presenting the active part of the film and feeding from the outside of said roll to the inside thereof; structure in said case engaging said roll to maintain a portion of the main body thereof in one of said compartments and hold said roll in an inclined position in which the roll leans into the other of said compartments to dispose the outside and inside of the roll and said loop in said other compartment, said other compartment presenting said front wall; and a guide in said other compartment adjacent said front wall and confining the active part of said loop to a path of travel in said projection plane, said one compartment terminating forwardly at an intermediate wall lying in an upright plane between said front and rear walls, said other compartment having a nose portion projecting forwardly ahead of said intermediate wall and presenting said front wall, said intermediate wall retaining the main body of said roll against forward movement during feeding of said loop.
 2. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said compartments present opposite, outer sidewalls of said case, and the axis of said roll in said inclined position extends upwardly toward the sidewall presented by said one compartment and downwardly toward the sidewall presented by said other compartment.
 3. The cartridge as claimed in claim 2, wherein said structure includes a divider element between said compartments projecting upwardly from said bottom wall and retaining said portion of the main body of the roll in said one compartment.
 4. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said case has a top and is provided with internal guide ribs in said other compartment along said top and said bottom engageable by said loop to hold the loop out of frictional contact with the top and bottom internal surfaces of said case.
 5. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said case comprises a pair of sections, and hinge means on said rear wall interconnectIng said sections for relative movement thereof to open and close said case.
 6. A self-storing cartridge assembly for an endless, unspooled roll of film having an external loop presenting the active part of the film and feeding from the outside of said roll to the inside thereof, said assembly comprising: a case of generally rectangular configuration having a rear wall, a front wall defining a film projection plane immediately therebehind, and a flat bottom upon which the case is self-supporting in an upright position, said case being provided with a pair of side-by-side compartments for receiving said roll and said loop respectively, and means for retaining a portion of the main body of said roll in one of said compartments while permitting free feeding of said loop in the other of said compartments, said one compartment terminating forwardly at an intermediate wall lying in an upright plane between said front and rear walls, said other compartment having a nose portion projecting forwardly ahead of said intermediate wall and presenting said front wall, said intermediate wall retaining the main body of said roll against forward movement during feeding of said loop; a guide in said other compartment adjacent said front wall for confining the active part of said loop to a path of travel in said projection plane, said front wall having an opening therein for projection of images on said active part therethrough; and a removable sheath slipped over said nose portion and receiving the latter in close fitting relationship thereto, and presenting a protective cover to prevent dust and other foreign particles from entering said opening during storage.
 7. The cartridge assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein said other compartment presents an outer sidewall having a clearance opening therein adjacent said front wall for receiving a component of a projection system when the sheath is removed, said sheath extending along said sidewall and covering said clearance opening when the sheath is in place on said nose portion.
 8. The cartridge assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein said compartments present opposite, outer sidewalls of said case lying in parallel, upright planes to permit a plurality of the cartridge assemblies to be arranged side by side in a row.
 9. The cartridge assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein label is provided on said rear wall for identifying the film. 